The Neo World Ends With You
by Sanako-Takanashi-SH
Summary: It's been two weeks since Neku left the Reapers' Game. Life became much better: he had friends and it seemed that even Shibuya had changed. However, this peaceful situation ends when, suddenly, a floating shadow appears and the place turns into a computer-like world. With Beat and two unexpected partners, Neku must survive a dangerous game, ever worse than the one he escaped from.
1. Day 0

The sun was shining, there were no clouds, and wind was blowing softly. People walked in different directions, all of them with their own thoughts. All of them with their own business and things that needed to be done. Cars passing, crowded streets, shops and restaurants full of people... The same buildings, the same people, the same noise. However, it wasn't bad. Not now.

He started to appreciate a bit more all that stuff. Without his headphones, he could hear the sounds, and, in a kind of way, enjoy more that sensation of being open to the world. He was going to meet his friends, his old partners from "The Reapers' Game". Two weeks ago, they were able to meet for the first time, but, for him, the current day was always like that one. He had dealt with so many problems in just four weeks during that game... He knew his friends didn't want to remember the time they passed during the sick game, and he respected that. Although, it was something really hard to forget and deny, and not commenting something related to that, or a detail that drove them to those memories, was really hard.

He facepalmed and shook his head. He noticed he had a sad face, and they could ask him about his mood; he sighed and smiled. He had nothing to fear: that insane Game was over, and think about those horrible weeks was worthless; he had to chill and enjoy the second chance they gave him. However, there was just one thing that came to his mind almost every day...

Joshua. The plan he managed, how he used him and his friends for a bet... It was really difficult to assimilate. He tried to pull those thoughts out of his head, but they always came back again. He was angry, he didn't like what he did, but he still wonderer how he would be, where he was or what he was doing at that moment. He had a kind of interest on him, even after the events occurred in those three weeks.

Neku Sakuraba looked at the big clock displayed on the screen of the 104 building. He had a few minutes to arrive, but he didn't have to worry about it, as he was really near of the meeting point. He was having a relaxing walking in that crowded pedestrian crossing, the place he used to pass across running with his partners and completing the missions while fighting all those Noise. It was a nasty sensation, but also made him smile. He put his hands inside of his pockets, and felt strange when he noticed it was empty. He was still used to touch the Player Pin and the rest of his Psychs Pins, even knowing they were no longer there. The Game was hard and dangerous, but he could do things that he would never imagine, such as create fire, shields or make rocks fall from the sky. Not everything about the UG was bad after all.

He raised his sight of the ground, and looked at the Hachiko Statue. It looked like he was going to be the second one to arrive: Shiki was waiting for the others with Mr. Mew among her arms while smiling. He was still getting used to her real form; her black and short hair and her round glasses, as her green jacket, her blue skirt with white details and the clair shoes, were a bit shocking to him; anyway, he didn't care about that: Shiki would always be Shiki, no matter the appearance she had. When Shiki saw him, she raised her hand and waved to him. He approached to her and said hello with a little grin.

"Where are the others?", she asked.

"I don't know. They should be about to arrive", Neku answered, scratching the back of his head.

"Heeey, yo!", a voice behind them shouted. "Man, my parents were pesterin' me!"

Both turned and saw Beat running and Rhyme next to him. Some seconds later, the group was complete. They were going to go to a concert that would begin in an hour, and they had to buy drink and stuff, so they hadn't to waste time during the songs and deal with the fans to get a bottle of water.

"I'm so excited! I love 'Alone at Marz'! Their songs are full of energy and force! They are just great!", Shiki said, while keeping a happy shout.

"Yeah, me too. Now we've got time to do whatever we want...", Neku added. Suddenly, he knew he said something he promised he wouldn't say, but it was too late.

The others looked a bit sad. All of them hadn't forgotten the Game yet. Beat looked away with an angry face, Rhyme looked at her feet and Shiki smiled sadly. '_Dammit!_', thought the orange-haired teen.

"That's part of the past... Now we're free, and we can enjoy things together!", Neku tried to cheer his friends, even knowing he wasn't really good at that kind of things. "We're going to go to that concert, so don't be sad! We'll have a got time, won't be?"

"Umm... Yes, you're right!", Shiki looked at him and smiled. "C'mon guys, we'll have 'Alone at Marz' in front of us! It'll be awesome!"

"I'm dying for living that moment!", Rhyme chuckled.

"Yea yo, I wanna see 'em!", Beat looked to be a bit better too.

"Ok then, let's buy the stuff before it's late", Neku suggested, and the group agreed.

They walked towards the 104 building. They talked about the songs they wanted the group to play, their seats and how they imagined the concert would be. It was just an amazing event they weren't going to...

"Wait, what is that?", Rhyme pointed at the sky, and the other three teens looked up.

There was a person floating. They couldn't see who he or she was, because of the sun, but they could distinguish a gesture...

All at once, the sky turned black, the buildings, from the top to the bottom, changed their aspect and became just columns of huge empty squares with one-colored edges, and the ground was just formed by green lines and black squares. Some parts of it were grey, objects like mailboxes, cars or others were red perfect prisms made of solid cubes, all made just one piece. All had a neon-like light, but it didn't shine so brightly.

"What the hell's going on?", asked a confused Neku.

"Yo, where's Rhyme? 'N' Shiki?", Beat asked very nervous and looking around him.

"What?", Neku was surprised: it was true. Rhyme and Shiki just... disappeared.


	2. Day 1, Part 1

Neku and Beat couldn't believe it: they vanished. How?

"Yo, where 'r we?"

"I don't know. This place is so strange... I'm sure this is Shibuya, but..."

A sound at his back shut him up. When he turned, he could see a claw approaching to him. Neku and Beat jumped away and avoided the attack. They looked around them, and checked that they were surrounded by...

"NOISE?!", both shouted with their eyes very opened. They had three Garage Wolves, a Mosh Grizzly and two Funkfrogs.

"What the fuck, man?", Beat was surprised. "Ain't we in RG?"

"That's what I thought, but...", Neku covered his head with the hands. "No, not again!"

The Noise started to attack them again. "Take care of the ones at the left. I'll erase those ones at the right!", Neku commanded his friend. He was about to fight them, when he realized... That he didn't have Psychs Pins to defend himself. How was he going to defeat them if he was defenseless? "_Crap! What should I do now?_".

"Hey, yo, we're in trouble!", the other teen shouted. "You can't fight! And I can't take 'em alone!". Just when he finished talking, Beat erased one of the frogs and one of the Garage Wolves performing acrobatics, and Neku smiled when he threw two pins towars him. "Catch 'em, Phones!"

"Yeah!", Neku caught them and checked those pins: they were a Lightning Storm Pin and a 1000 yen Pin. He sighed when he saw he just could attack using one of them, but at least it was better than being harmless.

He created two electric charges than began moving around him and hurting the Noise. Beat hit them as hard as he could, moving fast, jumping and making aerobatics, while Neku dealt with them using that pin's Psych. It was hard, but finally there was just the Mosh Grizzly. Both were prepared to face it; unfortunately, luck wasn't by their side at that moment...

"More of these?", Neku sighed when five new Mosh Grizzly appeared.

"They ain't goin' to give up, man!", Beat took again his skateboard and ran towards one of them.

One was a problem; six, much worse. Neku and Beat could erase two of them, but the other four beat them up. Both ended up rolling on the green and black ground. "Oh, man, what the fuck they eat?"

"I thought this would be easier... They've become stronger!", Neku tried to stand up, but he hadn't strength to do it. The Noise surrounded them and continued attacking them. Both were lost...

Or that's what they thought. A beam of light erased the Noise in a matter of seconds. They had their heads covered with their arms, and they just felt a white flash, followed by the scream of the Noise being erased. Beat was the first one to open his eyes and look what had happen. When Neku heard his short exclamation, of confusion and surprise, Neku dared to have a look around him.

There were just a 500 Yen Pin and a 1000 Yen Pin instead of the Noise, but the aspect of Shibuya didn't change. Everything was like before they were attacked. Neku didn't understand why his friend was so surprised, until he turned at his back and saw the smiling person standing there.

"Long time no see you, Neku", the person chuckled while looking at them with his half-closed eyes.

"J-Joshua...", Neku murmured and blinked twice. Was he really Joshua? How was that possible?

"Ain't that the dude of tha secon' week, yo?", Beat asked once he could stand up.

"Yes... Yes, he is...", Neku shook his head, still dizzy, and tried to stand up too. However, his legs made him fall again.

"Do you need some help?", Joshua offered him a hand, still smiling with a flash of arrogance, but happy too.

"Out of my face!", Neku ordered him angrily. He moved away Joshua's hand and finally stood up by himself. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You seem annoyed... You should calm down, Neku", Joshua chuckled again.

"Shut up!", Neku was getting more annoyed as Joshua pretend that they were great friends or something. "Do you think that helping us will make us trust on you?"

"Mmmm... 'Thank you' would have been enough...", Joshua said a bit more serious, yet he had his arrogant voice and that grim that Neku hated so much.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Man...", Beat tried to catch their attention, but it didn't work.

"I missed these conversations, you know? We had such a good time in 'The Reapers' Game'..."

"Damn you! You tricked me, you used my friends for a fucking bet, and now you pretend nothing of that happen? Do you think that goes so easily?"

"PHONES!", Beat called him nervously; nonetheless, Neku looked to be deaf, as he still ignored him.

"Everything is ok now, Neku..."

"Sure it is!", he said ironically. "What do you want now? Why did you do this?"

"Do what?", Joshua asked a bit surprised.

"Don't say you don't know anything! I know you're behind this! Rhyme saw you up there, in front of the 104!"

"I didn't do anything Neku...", Joshua changed his attitude and his voice turned really serious. "I'm not the one who made this to Shibuya. In fact..."

Joshua sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I have no clue of what's going on. I've appeared here, like I suppose you also did, and Noise attacked me. I couldn't control them, it was like if they weren't the Noise of the Game. I can't get out of this plane... it's like if we were in the UG plane, but not the same one. I wonder who made this."

"What?", Neku was shocked. "Stop lying!"

"I'm not lying, Neku. I would like it was a joke, but it isn't. It's the truth, this time I can assure you it.". Joshua's look was calm and deep; Neku even could feel... Guilt? Sadness?

"Then, if you didn't do this... Who took Shiki and Rhyme? What happened to Shibuya?"

"I would love to know that, Neku", Joshua answered while folding his arms.

"**YO DUDES, LOOK THERE!**", Beat grabbed both teens and shook them. When the two boys looked at him without knowing why he did that, Beat pointed at the two Minimal Rhinos that were about to charge to them.

In fact, they were really close to them when the group noticed them. Joshua avoided them with a simple move and Beat jumped away, but Neku wasn't so lucky: Beat pulled him unconsciously, so he tripped and fall on the ground. The Noise weren't too fast, though they could hit him with their horns; they were close enough. He rolled and saved himself from stomping, although his clothes got caught on one of the Noise's horn. The Noise shook him violently and beat him several times; he couldn't get off there, and his partners weren't able to attack the Noise, as they could hurt him accidentally. During the shaking, his only offensive pin flew away, too fast to be caught on time.

"Man, this ain't good", Beat said nervously.

"Ugh...", Joshua didn't know what they should do either.

"_Dammit... At this rate, I'll be..._", he was beaten again before ending that sentence.

Without any warning, he was thrown in the air, and finally rolled three yards, more or less. Beat and Joshua went to help him quickly. "You'r' okay, dude?"

"Niahg... My head is spinning...", Neku was dizzy, disoriented.

"Well, at least you're alive, aren't you?", Joshua said while smiling.

Neku had to wait some seconds until he stabilized. Then, he rose and brushed his clothes, very surprised. He looked to the Noise and found two big ice stalactites, which were shattered seconds later. He blinked and stared at the melting pieces for a while.

"What the hell was that?", he wondered aloud. Joshua was smiling, but he changed his face when he saw something behind them. Beat and Neku didn't know what he was looking at, so they turned...


End file.
